Food and drink · County · South Dakota
Fast food and sandwich shops in Brookings County, SD
How Brookings County, SD compares with other counties and the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #915 of 2,222 scored counties
#8 of 16 scored counties in South Dakota
- Listings
- 18
- 17 chain locations (94%)
- Official establishments
- 30
- All limited-service restaurants · +30.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $51.8M
- On food away from home · $3,756 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.9M
- 6% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.0
- 2% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 37,635
- +9.6% since 2020
See the fast food and sandwich shops around any address in Brookings County
The site report maps the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Brookings County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Household spending on food away from home in Brookings County comes to about $51.8M a year: $3,756 per household, 8% below the U.S. average. Spread across 18 fast food and sandwich shops, that is $2.9M per shop, 6% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all food away from home, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
Brookings County has 18 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings as of September 2026. 17 of them (94%) are chain locations, against 79% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 13.0, 2% below the U.S. rate of 13.3.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in Brookings County was 30 in 2023, up 30.4% from 2019. That is one for every 460 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. That count covers all limited-service restaurants (pizza places included), not only fast food and sandwich shops. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $4.1M have gone to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Brookings County.
Population estimates put the population change in Brookings County from 2020 to 2025 at +9.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Brookings County scores 56 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for fast food and sandwich shops, ranking #915 of 2,222 scored counties and #8 of 16 scored counties in South Dakota.
How Brookings County compares
The same measures for South Dakota and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all food away from home by the fast food and sandwich shops counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Brookings County | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 13.0 | 13.5 | 13.3 |
| Spending per listing | $2.9M | $2.9M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment (all limited-service restaurants) | 460 | 587 | 478 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +30.4% | +9.9% | +6.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +9.6% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on food away from home | $3,756 | $3,849 | $4,070 |
| Median household income | $70,064 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 59 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 23 → 30All limited-service restaurants · +30.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 547
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $10.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 0All limited-service restaurants with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1817 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 17The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $4.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as limited-service restaurants in Brookings County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3. These official figures cover all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops.
Population and households in Brookings County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 37,635+9.6% since 2020
- Households
- 13,798
- Median age
- 31.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 57%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 792 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 45
- Median household income
- $70,064+20.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $89,400
- Median home value
- $264,600
- Jobs located here
- 19,000
- Daytime population
- 37,385Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Brookings County?
These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Brookings County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardFast food and sandwich shops across South Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in South Dakota for fast food and sandwich shops, numbered among those based in South Dakota, with Brookings County marked.
Top counties in South Dakota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lincoln County, SD | 92 | 29 | 10.4 | $4.4M | +17.5% | #10 of 2,222 |
| 2Union County, SD | 90 | 6 | 8.2 | $5.3M | +3.3% | #15 of 2,222 |
| 3Meade County, SD | 83 | 9 | 7.5 | $5.2M | +2.7% | #86 of 2,222 |
| 4Lake County, SD | 66 | 6 | 12.7 | $3.1M | −0.2% | #530 of 2,222 |
| 5Butte County, SD | 61 | 7 | 16.3 | $2.4M | +5.5% | #726 of 2,222 |
| 6Hughes County, SD | 57 | 10 | 13.8 | $2.9M | −0.9% | #865 of 2,222 |
| 7Beadle County, SD | 57 | 10 | 13.3 | $2.7M | +2.4% | #871 of 2,222 |
| 8Brookings County, SD | 56 | 18 | 13.0 | $2.9M | +9.6% | #915 of 2,222 |
| 9Lawrence County, SD | 55 | 18 | 14.9 | $2.5M | +14.0% | #963 of 2,222 |
| 10Minnehaha County, SD | 52 | 130 | 15.3 | $2.6M | +7.6% | #1,076 of 2,222 |
Other business types in Brookings County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
- Restaurants and cafes49
- Sit-down restaurants57
- Fast food and sandwich shops56
- Pizza39
- Coffee shops and cafes50
- Bakeries and dessert shops78
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many fast food and sandwich shops are in Brookings County, SD?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 18 fast food and sandwich shops in Brookings County. 17 of them (94%) are chain locations. The listings count fast food, sandwich shops, delis and bagel shops. Official counts show 30 businesses with payroll classed as limited-service restaurants in 2023, up 30.4% from 2019. The official count takes in all limited-service restaurants, not only fast food and sandwich shops: pizza places are counted too.
How much do households in Brookings County, SD spend on food away from home?
About $51.8M a year, or $3,756 per household. That is 8% below the U.S. average (an index of 92, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 fast food and sandwich shops on map listings, it comes to $2.9M per shop. That spending covers all food away from home, which fast food and sandwich shops share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,798 households in Brookings County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Brookings County, SD compare with the U.S. for fast food and sandwich shops?
Brookings County has 13.0 fast food and sandwich shops per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 13.3. Spending per shop is $2.9M, 6% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of fast food and sandwich shops to household spending, Brookings County would have about 17, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 460 households, against one for every 478 across the U.S. The official count rose 30.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.1% for the U.S.
How fast is Brookings County, SD growing?
Population estimates put Brookings County at 37,635 people in 2025, up 9.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 13,798 households. Median household income in Brookings County is $70,064, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.5%, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Brookings County scores 56 for fast food and sandwich shops (upper middle), #915 of 2,222 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Brookings County. It maps the fast food and sandwich shops on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for fast food and sandwich shops · All 56 business types in Brookings County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Brookings County?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of Brookings County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.